


In Time

by marimoes



Category: Stand Still Stay Silent
Genre: Canon Universe, Closure, Gen, Mild Divergence, They Need It Ok
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-28 03:35:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20419250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marimoes/pseuds/marimoes
Summary: Things are no longer the same and they’re the only ones left...so, they talk.





	In Time

**Author's Note:**

> First Stand Still Stay Silent fic, all for my own emotional processing, I suppose. Hope you like it!

__ It’s a while before Onni sees him. Well, hears him might be the more accurate word. Instead of his usual pounding of hands against the outer barrier, Lalli simply stands. Words muffled against the seal and Onni hears them, almost like an itch against his neck. Like a drop of sweat on an overly warm day at the end of summer. 

He drops defense long enough to let Lalli hop in, all before closing it quickly behind him. Small crackling of sound a little too close for comfort. 

Lalli walks, careful and calculated towards Onni, much like the lynx he knows him to be. All actions effortless. They’re safe here within the walls and yet Lalli’s steps are silent, just as a scout’s should be. 

But there is something else hidden in his step, and Onni has a feeling he’s going to find out. 

He steps across the stones toward the small bank that Onni rests on, his reflection muddled in the water in front of him. The water is dark, has been for a while now, but now it’s even darker. Has been since-

“Hey.” Lalli says softly, now standing in front of Onni as he rests his back against the tree. Lalli opens his mouth to speak again, but his eyes twitch slightly, and the words die in his mouth. 

Talking has never been easy for Lalli and Onni knows this. The small silver haired boy that he’s watched grow up before his eyes, now standing, eyes and body aged with tragedy. He’s always been so distant, but Onni could tell in all those years. He knows what Lalli considers them. 

Them. 

Onni, eight years his senior, remembers the day that they visited their aunt. Tuuri rushing ahead, pushing against their mother’s leg. Just so she could get a glance at their newest cousin as soon as she could. Babbling on about how she would help care for him. Read him books. Take him fishing. 

All the while, Onni stayed back. 

He remembered how loud the room was as the adults laughed at Turri. Talking about things that she herself couldn’t even do. Remembered his aunt calling him forward to the edge of the bed, so that he could get a better look. Onni only had Tuuri as experience, and while that was just two years ago, Lalli was different. 

This small, pink, sleeping thing was his cousin and even though he was convinced he wouldn’t feel for this child like he did Tuuri...he does. The instinct is there. The desire to protect him the best he can. Along with his sister, still bouncing on her toes to get a better glimpse next to him. 

Next to him, just as Lalli is now. 

“I saw her.” Lalli says and Onni’s heart nearly bursts, “The other day, in here, I swore I did. She still had those braids.” 

The image of his sister cutting them off that day is still fresh in Onni’s mind. She was convinced that they would only slow her down. Though the logic behind that wasn’t completely drawn out, he bit his tongue as she cut them off. One after the other. 

His hands brushed against the soft hair beneath while he trimmed up the sides. It suited her, somehow, and he could see that it made her happy. He clings to it when he trims his own hair, that gentle tickle against his palms. 

“She hated them.” Onni says with a small smile and Lalli blows out a sigh, “She’s moved on though.” 

“I know.” Lalli murmurs. Leaning his head to sit atop his knees, he blinks slowly, “I just think I wanted to see her, so I did.” 

“It wasn’t your fault.” Onni says and can feel Lalli’s eyes move on to him, “It was a risk she was willing to take, and she took it. Much stronger than the rest of us.” 

Lalli’s eyes quickly cast back to the water. It’s quiet, just the gentle push of water back and forth and Onni thinks Lalli has fallen asleep. 

Until he hears a low grumble from Lalli’s lips. 

Hands held out to the water, Lalli is murmuring. 

His hair turning brighter in the light by the second, like freshly spun silk being held up to the light. Eyes clenched tight in focus and a flutter is nearly audible in his heavy chest. Lalli’s fingers twitch as he puts all his energy into the words, getting just a little louder all before dropping them with a huff. 

The pond stays the same; dark and calm like an oncoming storm. 

“It’ll clear on it own.” Onni says and Lalli rubs his palms into his eyes, “In time.” 

“In time.” Lalli repeats and tries to believe, “In time.” 

__   
  



End file.
